Usain Bolt strolled on to the track, number 2170, cap back to front. He encouraged his younger fellow Jamaicans, chatted to a Locog volunteer, tried out a new wave, crossed himself, and made history.

Thursday was Jamaica day in London. The Olympic stadium turned yellow, green and black, as it roared the fastest man on the planet home. Boys and girls Lightning Bolted for all they were worth. Even the worlds's biggest McDonald's, with its great yellow M and black backdrop, looked as if it was flying the flag for Jamaica.

The narrative seemed to be predetermined – Jamaica was competing for gold and silver in the 200m. Yohan Blake, as he had done in the 100m, would be the noble runner-up. The leonine Blake is known as the Beast, and never has there been a more loveable one – all happy-to-be-here smiles, and cutesy waves. The Jamaicans adore Blake. But not as much as they adore Bolt. Bolt is out on his own – in every respect; taller than his fellow runners, more popular and faster. If Bob Marley were still around today, even the great reggae god might have to play second fiddle to Bolt.

Everybody was swearing allegiance to Usain at the Olympic park. The Abrahams family from Kingston wore Usain flags, T-shirts, face transfers and inflatable arms. Twelve-year-old Adam Abrahams was thinking big. "I want a Jamaican one, two, three – Bolt, Blake then Warren Weir for bronze." He got his wish. It's not just the Jamaicans who claim Bolt as their own. Since 2008 he has become a one-man supranational. Non-Jamaicans like to think of him as a global citizen, batting for the world. (And, naturally, he is a fine cricketer, too.)

Tamara Neish and Temola Rodney were draped in Jamaican flags, despite the blistering heat. "I don't care who comes first and second, so long as they're Jamaican," said 30-year-old Tamara unconvincingly. She paused. "To be honest I want Usain to take it." "Me too," said 29-year-old sister Temola. They said that at any other time in Jamaican history Blake would be the special one. But not now. What was so special about Bolt? "He's not just a fast runner, he's got personality. He's lovable. Everybody wants to be like him," said Temola. "And it will be fantastic if he could do the double double," said Tamara.

"When he says he's the greatest, you know he means it. But he says it with such charm, you think 'OK, fair enough, we'll let you have it'." They were amused that so many non-Jamaicans were wearing their flag. "Well we can't deny our connection to the British. I'm happy for them to claim us. Any love is good love."

Four-time Olympic gold winner Michael Johnson made an interesting observation when asked if he thought Bolt intimidated his rivals – the size, his records, his mere presence. No, Johnson said, there is nothing intimidating about him; he talks to everybody, jokes around, high-fives. More importantly, he added, his fellow runners are not intimidated because they do not really regard themselves as being on the same sporting planet – with the possible exception of Blake, his training partner, who beat him over both 100m and 200m at the Jamaican trials in June when Bolt wasn't fully fit. Yet you couldn't help thinking that even Blake would feel a tiny bit upset if he won .

The awe with which he is regarded was apparent when Bolt first walked through the dining hall in the village, and some of the world's greatest athletes queued up for autographs.

Bolt defies the laws of pretty much everything. The ideal size for a sprinter is said to be six foot while he is six foot five; he has scoliosis which resulted in one leg being half an inch shorter than the other; he is a slow starter, often tails off at the end to wave to the crowd, and breaks records with his laces undone.

Wherever he runs, myths trail in his wake. So we like to believe he doesn't try, that he doesn't train, that he eats a bucket of jerk nuggets and a sack of yams before a race, and that he never worries. All of which is rubbish. Before setting a world record at the junior world championships he was so nervous he put his running shoes on the wrong feet, and he works himself so hard in training he vomits. Yet the myths persist because we want to believe them – and he rather likes them too. So when he posted photographs on Twitter of him in his room at 3am with three Swedish handball lovelies after his 100m victory earlier this week, it seemed natural. Of course that's how Usain would celebrate victory.

At the end, he bolted and danced, prayed and preened, and took photos of the press taking photos of him. The fastest man on the planet had achieved another first – winning the 100m and 200m in successive Olympics. He knew he had secured his legend status. The Jamaican trio did the slowest lap of honour ever. Blake and Weir, with their silver and bronze, were ecstatic – and probably relieved not to have stolen the boss's thunder.